Main content

Why I designed the prosthetic running leg

When Van Phillips lost his foot in an accident, he decided to design a prosthetic leg that would allow him to keep running. His invention would revolutionise para-sports.

When sports enthusiast Van Phillips lost his foot in a water-skiing accident, he decided to design a prosthetic leg that would allow him to keep running. He used carbon graphite which was light, flexible and strong. His invention would revolutionise para-sports. He tells Rebecca Kesby how he was determined to improve the clumsy prosthetic legs available in the 1980s, to allow amputees to feel the freedom of physical speed and strength again.

(Photo: The Flex-Foot Cheetah prosthetic running leg. Credit 脰ssur)

Available now

9 minutes

Last on

Mon 13 Apr 2020 03:50GMT

Broadcasts

  • Thu 9 Apr 2020 09:50GMT
  • Thu 9 Apr 2020 23:50GMT
  • Mon 13 Apr 2020 03:50GMT

Featured in...

Olympic history

Olympic history

The inside and personal story of the key moments from sporting history

Sporting Witness Films

Sporting Witness Films

Watch sporting heroes tell their stories of astonishing achievement

Podcast